J.D. Vance misguided in urging no U.S. retaliation should Putin use nukes in Ukraine

Cleveland Plain Dealer - Published: Oct. 18, 2022

Ohio Republican U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance was wrong to assert that U.S. leadership should not retaliate to Russia employing a nuclear weapon in its war with Ukraine. The United States and its allies cannot allow the legitimization of nuclear weapons, either on civilians or on the military battlefield.

For 80 years there has been a nuclear taboo in place that nearly all nations have agreed to -- for both their self-interest and preservation. If Vladimir Putin and Russia were to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, even if it’s a tactical small-yield weapon that is only used for intimidation, U.S. leadership must retaliate and reaffirm to the world that there are rules that cannot be ignored without consequence. That does not mean the United States and NATO must enter the war or respond with a symmetrical nuclear attack, but instead by delivering significantly consequential attacks on Russian military assets and/or bases. For example, some experts have suggested sinking Russia’s entire Black Sea naval fleet.

If a nuclear weapon is used, there must be retaliation without escalation, to deter Russia and adjacent malevolent and/or competing states from future usage, either in Ukraine now or in East Asia one day.

Santana F. King,

North Royalton